AIR QUALITY

By generating a clean fuel, anaerobic digestion helps to reduce air pollution and our reliance on less sustainable sources of energy.

Study finds London's air quality amongst worst in Europe.

A major air quality study has ranked London as one of the worst European cities for air pollution. Only Glasgow, Copenhagen and Stockholm were found to have poorer air quality, with Berlin considered the city with the best air quality. The cities were judged based on in-depth analysis of the steps they had taken to reduce soot in the air between 2005 and 2010, after new European limits for particulate matter were introduced. During that time London has reduced the size of its congestion zone by 50%, increased travel fares and downsized plans for hybrid buses.

From LSX e-bulletin Sept 11

London’s Air Quality is consistently in breach of EC air quality laws, designed to protect health. Poor quality air is thought to result in more than 32,000 premature deaths in the UK each year alone, while the lives of many who live alongside our busiest roads are being shortened by up to ten years.

On bad air days, the smallest particles (particulates) irritate the lung surfaces and are absorbed into the blood stream, causing cardiovascular disease, asthma and other lung conditions.

Children exposed to long-term air pollution have been shown to develop smaller lungs than they would have otherwise.

ALL diesel engines, even the newest and most fuel efficient, emit particulates and are far dirtier than petrol engines. Biomethane, the purified form of biogas, burns significantly more cleanly and quietly than petrol or diesel.